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  • Molecular and Cellular Pathology
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Vascular phenotype in angiogenic and non-angiogenic lung non-small cell carcinomas

British Journal of Cancer volume 86, pages 244–249 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

We have previously described a group of non-small cell lung carcinomas without morphological evidence of neo-angiogenesis. In these tumours neoplastic cells fill up the alveoli and the only vessels present appear to belong to the trapped alveolar septa. In the present study we have characterised the phenotype of the vessels present in these non-angiogenic tumours, in normal lung and in angiogenic non-small cell lung carcinomas. The vessels, identified by the expression of CD31, were scored as mature when expressing the epitope LH39 in the basal membrane and as newly formed when expressing αVβ3 on the endothelial cells and/or lacking LH39 expression. In the nine putative non-angiogenic cases examined, the vascular phenotype of all the vessels was the same as that of alveolar vessels in normal lung: LH39 positive and αVβ3 variable or negative. Instead in 104 angiogenic tumours examined, only a minority of vessels (mean 13.1%; range 0–60%) expressed LH39, while αVβ3 (in 45 cases) was strongly expressed on many vessels (mean 55.5%; range 5–90%). We conclude that in putative non-angiogenic tumours the vascular phenotype is that of normal vessels and there is no neo-angiogenesis. This type of cancer may be resistant to some anti-angiogenic therapy and different strategies need to be developed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Professor Doug Altman for his suggestions and the many helpful discussions. Supported by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and by a grant from ‘The Special Trustees of the Middlesex Hospital, University College Hospital and University College London Medical School’. E Passalidou was supported by a Research Fellowship from the European Respiratory Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 3rd Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sismanogleiou Hospital, Sismanogleiou 1, Athens, 15126, PC, Greece

    E Passalidou

  2. ICRF Medical Statistics Group, Centre for Statistics in Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Old Road, Headington, OX3 7LF, Oxford, UK

    M Trivella

  3. Department of Histopathology, University College London, Rockefeller Building, University Street, London, WC1E 6JJ, UK

    N Singh

  4. Division of Thoracic Surgery, Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli 8, Roma, 00168, Italy

    A Cesario & P Granone

  5. Department of Histopathology, Royal Brompton, Hospital, Sydney Street, London, SW3 6NP, UK

    A G Nicholson

  6. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Royal Brompton, Hospital, Sydney Street, London, SW3 6NP, UK

    P Goldstraw, C Ratcliffe & M Tetlow

  7. Centre for Cutaneous Research, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2 Newark St, London, E1 2AT, UK

    I Leigh

  8. ICRF Medical Oncology Unit, Churchill Hospital, Old Road, Headington, OX3 9LJ, Oxford, UK

    A L Harris

  9. Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, ICRF Tumour Pathology Group, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, OX3 9DU, Oxford, UK

    M Ferguson, J Hu, K C Gatter & F Pezzella

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  1. E Passalidou
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  2. M Trivella
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  4. M Ferguson
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  6. A Cesario
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  7. P Granone
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  8. A G Nicholson
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  9. P Goldstraw
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  10. C Ratcliffe
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  11. M Tetlow
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  12. I Leigh
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  13. A L Harris
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  14. K C Gatter
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  15. F Pezzella
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Correspondence to F Pezzella.

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Passalidou, E., Trivella, M., Singh, N. et al. Vascular phenotype in angiogenic and non-angiogenic lung non-small cell carcinomas. Br J Cancer 86, 244–249 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6600015

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